Apocalyptic
by TheCatHungerGames
Summary: Natalie and Rose must travel through this hell on earth alone together. The pair will indeed find others to join them, but they know it will never last forever. In fact, they both know that their relationship won't even last forever. Now they simply have to wait it out. This is based off of the TV and comic series The Walking Dead
1. Infectious

I sighed monotonously as my feet hung over the edge of a roof of some building. I've never been good with stress. I go into a panic attack and snap, but I only discovered this recently, though. I am Natalie Smith, 21 years old, and this is how my life went to hell.

Natalie stuck to the left side of the road as she sulked through the abandoned streets of a city she was forced to relocate to. Not for any financial or family-related reasons, but, instead, Natalie was forced by a horde of the living dead. Yup, you heard correctly. She doesn't know how it happened, but it's been about two years to her knowledge. So many of her friends and acquaintances have given way to the 'infection' that she lost count a long time ago.

'Walkers,' as she had dubbed them, clumsily stumbled over fallen signs and wooden beams, hardly taking any notice of her. She had a dark green backpack strapped to her back, holding a half-full water bottle, a jar of peanut butter she had been saving, and, in the side pocket, her red, retractable fire department knife a friend had given her. Natalie came across a run-down car, and she peeked through the cracked side window, finding a walker still strapped with a seatbelt. The walker slowly looked up and moaned, sticking its flimsy arms in an attempt to attack her. Natalie decided to leave the walker and continued wandering the streets.

Natalie stopped suddenly, staring up longingly at the run-down sign of a grocery store. With excitement building up in her, she ran towards the entrance, praying that no-one had yet raided or claimed the store. She reached the doors and noticed she had caught the attention of a few walkers nearby. Her hands started to shake, and a pit of dread started to form in her stomach. "Crap.." She muttered, quickly pulling out her knife. She shakily broke the lock with the blade of her knife and rushed in, unintentionally slamming the doors closed. Natalie desperately looked around, trying to find something to block the door with. Although she knew she could take on two walkers, she didn't want to take any chances, especially when she thought about past mistakes. Disappointingly, the store was small, but there was a fallen cabinet beside the door. She rushed to its side, vainly pushing it to the door's base. Once she was satisfied with her barricade, she moved on further into the store.

She slid her backpack off, cramming it with some water bottles and some of her favorite foods. She picked it up, testing its weight. Natalie decided she could carry a few more things, so she decided to pack in some medical supplies. Stooping to pick up painkillers from the floor, she stuffed it into the same pocket her knife sat comfortably in. Her hands froze, still holding the bottle, as she heard a gun click behind her. Natalie felt her rapid heartbeat, and that familiar pit settled again. A deep voice sounded behind her, "Put the bag and bottle down and turn around." Her hands shook as she limply dropped the bottle, slid the backpack off, and cautiously turned around.

Natalie faced a tall male wielding the gun that had prevented her looting. He bore dark brown, shaggy hair, blue-almost grey eyes, and a subtle beard. Her voice caught in her throat, and she felt unable to move or speak. The man spoke again, "Do you have any weapons on you?" His request took a few hesitant seconds to process in Natalie. She shook her head quickly, once able to. He nodded behind her, signaling to his companion. Her bag was quickly snagged from its spot by a female wielding another gun. The woman bore similarities to the man, such as hair and eye color, so Natalie assumed they were related in some way.

The woman put her gun in her pocket, unzipping Natalie's backpack and searching through the things she had looted. The woman had taken out most of her stuff when the glint of Natalie's red knife caught her eye. She put the bag down and took the knife out, studying the worn out writing on the blade. "Fire department, huh?" The woman inquired with a raspy, but surprisingly gentle, voice.  
"I-I.. My f-friend gave it to me.." Natalie responded, stuttering out of sheer nervousness.  
The male became weary. "Friend? Are they here?" He asked, looking around.  
"N-No, I'm alone.. She's d-dead.."  
"Not as surprising as it should be nowadays," the woman responded, seemingly more lenient. "I think," she smirked, "I'll have to hold onto this knife for ya, though."  
"B-but.." Natalie started.  
The woman interrupted, "Sky, put your gun down; she's defenseless."  
"You're sure, sis?"  
"Yeah." She turned to Natalie, holding the knife up and seemingly mocking her. "You'll come with us just in case." The woman pocketed the knife and instead held onto her gun. "Oh, by the way, I'm Kristen. You?"  
"N-Natalie.."  
"Okay. Sky, carry her bag; she had some nice stuff in there."

Kristen moved Natalie's makeshift barricade. The walkers she had blocked off wandered away by then, but there were more than before wandering the streets. "C'mon, now, you don't want to get eaten alive." She waved Natalie and her brother, whom Natalie would know as Skyler, over to her and exited the store. Natalie was ushered along by Skyler, right behind Kristen, who lead them to a run-down tower, with a wooden board loosely covering a hole in the side of a wall. Yes, this was indeed how Natalie's life went to hell.


	2. Team

Skyler and Kristen brought Natalie to the tower, but, along the way, they had forced Natalie to kill walkers they had caught the attention of. When the trio reached the right side of the tower, close to a wooden fence, Skyler removed the flimsy board, revealing a whole in the wall barely big enough for Sky to fit in to. Immediately inside was a staircase that towered upwards. On each floor were doors leading to different rooms, and the siblings lead Natalie to the third floor. Kristen silently opened the door with the number '6' on it and walked in, throwing Natalie's backpack into the corner of the room.

Mold was starting to inhabit the room's walls, and the pain was peeling off, showing the bare wood underneath. The room was small compared to what one would have in a normal house and was seemingly used for storage in the past. There was a large cabinet that touched the ceiling when erected, but it was knocked over, blocking access to a corner of the room. There was a tattered, scarred bow sitting atop the cabinet; Natalie guessed this belonged to the blonde woman that sat next to it. Empty and filled pill bottles, water bottles, and food cans were set in the far right corner of the room, and they signaled the group had been here for a while by the sheer amount. There were bullet shells scattered on the floor along with a gun which was loaded with only one bullet. She noticed there was blood and bits of torn flesh just outside the door and on the door frame, but she decided not to question it.

Kristen pointed to a small mattress by the door and spoke up, "Sit there." Natalie brought herself out of her panicked state and obeyed the command. Skyler sat next to the gun on the floor, picking it up and holding both guns in either hand. The girl sitting on the fallen cabinet spoke in a quiet but powerful voice, "Who's this?"

Kristen answered almost immediately, "This is Natalie; we found her scavenging at the store while we were there."

"Why'd you bring her here?"

"Well, there's only three of us, and there's strength in numbers..." Kristen paused before adding, "Plus, she had a lot of food in her bag."

The blonde woman stood up and looked through Natalie's bag, taking out things she had found. "Does she even have a weapon?" The woman tilted the bag, spilling everything inside.

"Be careful, Rose! And, yes, she does.." Kristen pulled Natalie's knife out of her pocket, holding it up for Rose.

Rose smirked, which was rather creepy, and took the knife, studying it. "Sweet.."

Natalie's gaze snapped to Rose. "H-Hey, that's my knife!"

Said woman looked at her unamused. "Yeah, I know."

Natalie looked at her, not knowing how to respond.

Kristen took the knife out of Rose's hand and gave it back to Natalie. "Hey!" Rose shouted.

"Might as well be able to protect yourself if you're going to be with us," Kristen said, looking down at Natalie and smiling hollowly.

"Thanks.." Natalie took the knife and rubbed the hilt with her thumb, as if trying to comfort it. The backpack thrown on the floor caught Natalie's attention. "But, my bag.." She trailed off.

"You can have that back," Rose said, throwing it on the mattress next to Natalie. "But the food belongs to all of us now."

She looked down, grabbing the bag and putting it on her lap. "Yeah.. Of course."

Rose picked up a can of peaches that Natalie had found, opened it, and ate straight out of the can with her fingers. Skyler glanced at the contents of the bag spewed out on the floor and picked up a small box of cereal, and Kristen picked up a chocolate bar. Rose looked up at the pile and muttered, "You have the most random crap in there.."

"I got what I could," Natalie voiced, defending herself.

"She's right, Rose. This 'random crap' could save our lives."

Rose scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. I'll be bitten before I rely on some stranger for survival!"

"You rely on us," Skyler retorted with a slight chuckle.

"I don't see it like that.." Rose whined, resuming eating her peaches.

"How do you see it, then?"

She shrugged and remained silent.

After a while of silence, Kristen put the leftover food back in Natalie's bag and tossed it back over to her when she was done. She picked up one of Skyler's loaded guns and faced the small group. "Now that we have Natalie with us, we should.. attempt to move again."

"Again?" Natalie asked cautiously.

"Yeah.. Last time we tried, we were pushed back by a horde of walkers."

"What makes you think one person is going to change anything?" Rose inquired, apparently choosing to be negative.

Kristen shrugged. "Maybe it won't, but we need to get to a less-populated area; that way, there'll be less walkers."

"But, there will probably be more survivors there, because that's probably the same thought process everyone else has," Skyler put in.

"If there are any other survivors," Rose muttered.

Kristen sighed. "Still, we need to go. What do you think, Natalie?"

Natalie was pulled out of her thoughts and responded, "Yeah, we should go. I know somewhere in the countryside we could go."

"Where?" Kristen asked, clearly interested.

"I used to go to this horse stable in the summer, and there was a house the owners could live in near the stables."

"Okay.. Yeah, that's a start. We should head out towards the country and look for that place. If we find anything else along the way, that's a bonus!"

"Don't have any other plan," Skyler commented while shrugging.

Rose closed her eyes and stood up, picking up her bow and her quiver full of arrows. "Fine."

"Good!" Kristen cried out happily.

After ordering everyone to gather the group's things, Kristen made sure they had gotten everything they needed and made sure they all had weapons. Skyler made sure the three guns were loaded, took two, and gave Kristen one. Natalie clutched onto her knife, and Rose prepared her bow. The small group made their way down the three flights of stairs, and Skyler moved the thin wooden board and killed two walkers that were right outside. The reckless shooting had caught the attention of three walkers behind them and two walkers in front of them. A short walker stumbled towards Natalie, and her hands froze in panic. Rose and Skyler killed the two in front of them, and Kristen killed a walker behind them. The gunshot triggered an action from Natalie, and she rushed to the walker in front of her, plunging the blade into the side of its skull. The ridges on the edge of the knife snagged on bone and flesh, rendering the knife stuck. The taller walker lumbered towards her as she struggled with the knife. Before it could get anywhere near her, Skyler shot its head, immediately killing it. Kristen looked around the corner of the alley the exit lead to. "Okay, guys. Let's go."


	3. Danger on the Road

The four-membered group ran along the side of the building they had inhabited, trying to avoid catching the attention of any nearby walkers. Rose noticed a crashed car further up ahead and noted the rest of the group, "Hey, there's a car up ahead," she whispered. "Should we see what's in it?" Skyler and Kristen looked ahead, nodding. Kristen put her gun in her pocket, jogging up with Rose to the car, but Natalie and Skyler stayed a distance behind. Kristen reached the car first, and, as she looked through the driver's window, a walker inside the car stretched its arms out, grabbing her wrist with the intent to pull her in.

She yelled in surprise before shouting for help, "Rose! Sky!" Though, with all her yelling, she caught the attention of a few nearby walkers. Rose ran to her aid, shooting the oncoming walkers. She used an arrow to pierce the walker's brain through the temple. Kristen pulled her arm out of the dead walker's grip. Small shards of glass poked her skin, but she was really bothered by the bloody marking the walker made. Shallow teeth marks were engraved on her skin, and she knew exactly what that meant. Skyler ran up to them, Natalie in pursuit. "Dammit!" Skyler swore, not waiting for Kristen or Rose to say somthing.

"We should continue going," Kristen suggested.

"But you're bitten!" Natalie suddenly shouted, nervousness bottling up inside her once more.

"No shit, Natalie!" Skyler scolded, clearly angered by his sister's inevitable death.

"When the time comes, you can do what you need to do, but, for now, there's now reason to hold up for me," Kristen solemnly said.

"I agree," Rose said, nodding. "Sky, I understand, but this is normal now, so before you throw a tantrum, we need to go." Rose pointed to the oncoming walkers to emphasize her point before shooting two of them with her bow.

Not one for drama, Skyler obliged, running through the street with his small group, killing walkers along the way. Within a few hours, the group approached the road that lead to their destination. Kristen was starting to feel weak by this point and starting to get slightly pale. Her bite was passed amputation now; the virus was coursing through her veins, reaching her vital organs and destroying them from the inside out. Skyler helped her along, refusing assurance from the others.

They crossed an elevated road, but the grop came to a sudden halt, as they were faced with cars crashed into each other; their windows were shattered, and the coating of paint was peeling off the sides of the doors. A walker moaned, craning its neck to look at the oncoming living. It staggered towards them, tripping over its half torn open foot. Rose didn't hesitate as she released an arrow, impaling the walker's skull. It slumped on the ground, just a mass of decaying flesh. Another walker pulled the top half of its former body from the back of an open freighter truck. Its organs trailed behind, splattering the road with blood and other fluids. Rose let another arrow fly, killing it instantly.

There was a surprisingly small amount of walkers as the group traversed the massive crash. Rose slit her hand on a jagged piece of glass, but the rest made it out unharmed. Skyler bandaged Rose's hand with a piece of cloth he had torn from his shirt. Rose led the group as they approached the exit of the city, and only a big forest and green, rolling hills were all that could be seen.

They looked around, admiring the scenery as they walked on a countryside road. Suddenly, Rose stopped and turned to the group. "I'm kind of thirsty," she said curtly.

"So?" Skyler asked impatiently.

"I saw a nearby river in the forest. Kristen should come with me; water would do her good."

"Is it safe to go?" He inquired cautiously.

"Yes, I don't think there are any walkers there."

Skyler turned to Natalie.

Natalie shrugged and replied, "I didn't see any."

"Fine."

Skyler let Kristen lean on Rose, and they soon disappeared into the forest. Skyler and Natalie waited on the side of the road for about five minutes before they saw Rose approaching. The first, most notable thing was that she was alone. Rose held in her right hand a bloodied arrow, and her hands were splattered with blood. Skyler visibly tensed up, and the familiar pit of despair settled in Natalie's chest. "Where's Kristen?" Skyler demanded, hand protectively gripped around the handle of his gun.

Rose looked down, as if ashamed.

"Where the hell is she?!" He demanded again, this time more aggressively.

Rose sighed and responded quietly but firmly, "I killed her."

"You.." Skyler trailed off, drawing his gun quickly.

A gunshot could be heard as Skyler squeezed the trigger, aimed right at Rose. Natalie flipped her knife's blade up and struck it down on the gun a split second before the trigger was pulled. Rose hesitated before plunging the same arrow she used to kill Kristen through Skyler's throat while he was distracted. He fell to the ground, his blood splattering over the cement of the road, painting it scarlet. Rose pulled the arrow out and thrust it through his temple. She tried to pull the arrow out but struggled, as it was stuck on something. It finally gave way, and small pieces of his brain and optical nerve were twisted on the tip. Natalie turned and retracted her knife, putting it in her backpack. Rose put the arrow back in its quiver, too disgusted to clean it but unable to discard it. "We should go," Rose grimly stated.

Natalie nodded in agreement, too shaken to say anything.

She looked at Natalie, slightly worried. "You do know why I did that, right?"

Natalie simply stared at Rose.

"It's kill or be killed, Natalie. He would've killed me. Thanks for that, by the way."

Natalie nodded again.

"Which way did you say the stables were?"

"There a-about two miles from here.."

"Let's get going."

Just like that, the past group of four was split in half by death itself, and the two sole survivors walked solemnly down the road, leaving behind the corpse of the last member to be killed. The ventured the two miles dictated by Natalie, and the gravel road leading up to their haven was soon in sight. The black fence that used to house horses was the only thing that separated them from the farmhouse. The hopped the fence gate that required a code to open and made their way to the entrance of the large house. Rose made sure there were no walkers immediately inside, and they slowly entered, weapons at the ready. Rose scoured the house for walkers, and Natalie searched for any left over supplies. Rose killed three walkers; two inside the master bedroom, and one hanging from a noose in the attic. Natalie found some food stored away in the cabinets.

Rose descended from the second floor and laid her bow against a torn-up couch. She took notice of the food Natalie had found and suggested that they should search the stables next. Natalie agreed and asked her if she found anything. Rose told her of the two in the bedroom, but left out the one in the attic. They waited until the sun settled on the horizon before they went to sleep. Rose slept on the couch on the first floor, and Natalie slept in the bed on the second floor. The next morning they would explore their new territory, but, for now, the survivors would get the rest they hadn't been able to for days unending.


	4. Companionship

The sun painted the sky a warm orange color as it peeked over the horizon. Natalie's eyes fluttered open as she shifted in her sheets, unprepared to get up and face the doomed world. She heard Rose's footsteps as she laid awake in bed, so she got up, groggily opening the door and stumbling out. Rose's gaze snapped to Natalie when she heard the door opening. "Natalie?" She cautiously inquired.

"Yeah?" Natalie said, tiredness evident in her tone.

"Just making sure it's you. I'm going to scope out the stable; if you want to come, you'll know where to find me."

Natalie made her way down the stairs, and Rose exited the house after saying goodbye. Once Rose was outside, she looked around at her surroundings. Pastures surrounded by black fences were completely empty, except for the walkers stumbling and crawling through the field. The stable, the roof starting to cave in, was decently big and held an arena at the far right, separated from the stables by a gravel road. Rose trekked over to the stable, and she found many large stalls, most empty with the doors falling off their hinges. She spotted movement in a stall in the far right corner of the run-down stable, and she prepared her bow for attack.

A dead walker, terribly mutilated, laid in the stall next to a horse, blood splattered on its hooves. Rose only ever worked with horses once, but this kind of horse was easily identifiable. A Clydesdale mare stood in front of her, nervously pacing the stall. She was a beautiful bay color, and her hooves were decorated with long feathers and white stockings. A white blaze adorned her face, and her dark brown, expressive eyes gave away her fear. Once she became aware of Rose's presence, she backed up, ears pinned back on her head. Rose looked around, seeing only rotting horse corpses. Some were currently being feasted upon by walkers, but some were left untouched. Rose guessed some of the horses had died of starvation or dehydration, which made her question how the mare had managed to stay alive. She looked back at the blood staining the mare's hooves and realized that it was fresh blood. On the stall door was posted a sign that read: "Cipher." The wooden sign was cracked and starting to house mold, but Rose guessed that this was the mare's name.

Rose slowly held out her hand, allowing the mare to become familiar with her scent. Cipher calmed down, now realizing she was in the presence of a living human, but she still paced, having been cooped up in a stall for months. Rose noted that Cipher was wearing a large, dark green halter still in decent condition. Rose remembered that they used lead ropes to guide the horses, but, looking around, she couldn't see one immediately around her. She could lead the horse without the lead rope, but she decided to find one, just to be safe.

Rose left the horse, traveling to the arena not far from the stables. Inside, there were jumps set up, but the poles on some of the jumps had been knocked off. On the very far side of the arena was a large door, sealed by what looked like a lead rope. She ran up to the door, quickly untying the rope, and she soon realized why the door had been tied shut. A walker fell at her feet, and four other walkers were surrounding her. The walkers stood there for a second, but, all at once, they soon realized what they were staring at. The walker that fell grabbed her ankle, but she reacted in time and stabbed an arrow through its skull. The other four she didn't bother to kill, so she just ran and hurriedly closed the doors opposite of the walkers.

She held the red lead rope and walked back to the stables, opening the doors to face the decaying wood. Rose hooked the lead rope onto Cipher's halter and opened the stall door. Cipher rushed out, but the mare soon realized Rose was in control of her movement. Rose gripped the rope tighter, after witnessing how strong Cipher was. She made a clicking noise, and Cipher recognized this as a signal to move, which she readily did. Rose moved with the horse, watching Cipher's muscles ripple as she walked.

Once the pair exited the stables, Cipher whinnied at the joy of seeing the pastures outside. Rose was unsure whether she should let the mare into the pasture, fearing that there may be walkers. Instead, she decided to ride the mare, if only she had a saddle and bridle. She could ride the horse bare back and guide her with her mane, but Rose decided to tell Natalie about her find first. She contemplated tying Cipher to the fence but worried that walkers might be able to get to her. So, Rose lead Cipher to the stairs leading to the porch and let go of the lead rope, and Cipher surprisingly waited patiently, not running off despite having been in a stall for months.

Rose walked inside the house and called for Natalie, who came down the stairs in seconds. "Yes, Rose?" Natalie asked quietly.

"I found a mare in the stables. Want to see her?"

Natalie smiled, rushing outside to see the horse, who she recognized from years of riding. Cipher looked up at Natalie and continued grazing, not having any noticeable reaction to her. Rose walked up next to Natalie and asked, "So, do you think you can teach me to ride?"

Natalie looked at her questionably. "You want to know?"

"Yeah.. We have a horse, and she'll be pretty useful."

Natalie nodded and slowly advanced toward the mare, who tolerated her presence. "Did you see any saddles?"

"No, but can't you ride horses bare back?"

"Yeah, It's just harder to do than with saddles."

Rose sighed, having never actually ridden a horse before. "We'll see what we can do."

"Are you sure you want to do this, Rose? We could-"

"I don't really think I have a choice, do I?" Rose snapped, turning back to Cipher who just continued to graze.

"Sorry.." Natalie whispered. "I think we can use her halter as a bridle; I've seen it done before."

"Well, we have to, Natalie. The barn's infested with walkers, but, luckily, they were distracted."

"Distracted?" Natalie questioned, cocking her head to the side. "Distracted by what?"

"The other horses," Rose responded, her voice laced with slight disgust. "But we should take care of the mare we have while we still have her. Let's get started then, shall we?"


	5. Lost and Found

"Rose, don't be so tense," Natalie calmly corrected. Rose did as instructed, loosing up her grip on the lead rope reins as Cipher trotted down the empty, abandoned road. Rose had expected riding Cipher to be a lot harder and bumpier, but she was surprisingly smooth in her gaits. Rose gazed forward onto the endless road, the cool autumn air blowing stray strands of her blonde hair.

"Hey, Natalie, how far did you say the town was?"

"It's only about a mile or so away by now."

Rose remained silent.

"Um.. Rose?" Natalie cautiously began.

"Yes?"

"Where do you think all those walkers came from? You know, the ones that drove us out."

Rose simply shrugged. "They must've come overnight. The more living there are in one place, there's even more dead."

"I see.." Natalie whispered, barely audible.

Rose kicked Cipher into a canter, tensing up at the sudden shift in speed before being corrected again by Natalie. Any walkers that stumbled across their path, they simply ignored, not bothering to kill them; Cipher was more than fast enough to get away from them. They hoped that the town had supplies that they could secure for themselves or even a place to stay. The two of them had narrowly escaped the ranch being over run, and, during which, had contemplated leaving Cipher behind but voted against it.

Soon, the tips of the large buildings could be seen by the pair of survivors as they neared the entrance to the city. Natalie pointed and smiled brightly at the sight, and a sight it was; not a beautiful one, mind you. Some of the buildings were either completely torn down or partially; some even burned. To Natalie, the city just represented, potentially, a new start. However, Rose remained skeptical of the city; it could be overrun with walkers, it could be completely devoid of supplies, and, judging by the state of the buildings, there might only be a slim chance of finding a place to stay. Not to mention, the problem with Cipher; she'd need food, water, a place to be safe, and she'd need complete observation so as not to be overtaken with walkers.

Rose sighed, "Don't get your hopes up, Natalie. There could be.. complications."

"Aw, Rose, don't be like that! I bet it'll be alright!"

"If you say so, Natalie, I'll try to.. give it a chance."

"Alright! Good!"

Cipher stepped cautiously as she tried to avoid the burned and broken slabs of wood that blocked the entrance to the city. They had finally reached it, and here they were, looking at a completely empty city street, minus a few walkers here and there. This could either be a good thing or a bad thing. Rose, being her protective and cautious self, voted bad. Especially since there was a small fire ignited on a pile of wood; something she considered a bad sign. Something was definitely off about this city; something she didn't want to stay around for, but, alas, this was Natalie she was talking to. Rose would do anything Natalie asked of her that she deemed necessary, and this was no exception. Natalie asked her to give it a chance, and she would.

Rose, still atop Cipher, pointed at a seemingly untouched store and directed Natalie's gaze towards it. "There. We'll go in there to see if we can find anything."

"Alright, but.. Do you want me to stay out here with Cipher?"

"Yeah. Are you sure you can handle yourself, Natalie?"

"I think so.. I'll try.." Natalie whispered, clutching her knife as she become increasingly more nervous at the thought of being left alone outside.

"Don't worry," Rose reassured her friend, offering a small smile. "I'll be back in no time."

Rose grabbed Natalie's backpack and wandered inside the story, and she was surprised to see that there was no barricade blocking the entrance. She walked in nonetheless and snatched the first thing she saw, which just so happened to be Natalie's favorite food: peanut butter. Rose smiled to herself and decided to tell Natalie later, shoving the jar into the bag. Rose began to gather more and more food, water, and medicine, and she had lost track of time before she realized it got quiet. Terrifyingly quiet. Cipher no longer gave off nervous whinnies, and Rose no longer heard Natalie's voice calming the mare down. "Natalie?" Rose yelled out, trying not to be too loud. "Is everything alright out there?"

She received no answer.

"Natalie? Cipher?"

Again, utter silence, not counting the groaning of a walker.

Rose gasped. "Natalie!"

The groaning of a walker, which Natalie would've killed.

Rose slung the bag onto her shoulder and immediately dashed out of the store, her bow in hand. Hardly seconds passed before Rose shot the walker with her bow once it was in sight. Cipher and Natalie were no where to be seen. There were no signs of them around, and, for once, she let it get to her. Rose limply dropped to her knees, looking frantically in all directions. "Natalie?!" Her voice broke into sobs. "Where are yo-" A sharp pain on the side of her head forced her onto the ground with its strength, rendering her unconscious.

Rose groaned as she shook her head, trying to clear her blurry vision. Her hands and feet were tied, and there was a cloth firmly tied around her mouth. The words she tried to mutter just spilled out as muffled nonsense. Rose attempted to stand, despite knowing her feet were tied, but only succeeded in flopping down on her side. She held back vomiting as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, realizing the situation she had now found herself in. Dead walkers were hung from the ceilings by metal hooks, much like animals would be in a slaughterhouse or meat locker. Tears wet the white cloth wrapped around her mouth as she repeatedly called for someone; anyone. She had to find Natalie.

Rose flailed around, trying to find a way to get the ropes off, and an idea suddenly presented itself to her. Those hooks looked pretty sharp, and, if she could balance herself, she might be able to get the binds to her hands off. Rose pushed her back against the wall and managed to stand up, still using the wall as support. She shuffled and bounced her way to the nearest hook, which just happened to be impaled through the walker's mouth, not its skull. That meant it was still alive but, thankfully, couldn't bite her. It confirmed her theory by suddenly throwing its arms forward, in a measly attempt to grab her. She wasn't even in arm's reach of the walker, so she easily avoided the potential catastrophe.

Rose sawed the rope back and forth on the sharp hook, and, being rather thick, it took a while before it eventually snapped. She immediately sat and worked eagerly on the ropes that bound her feet, successfully ripping them off, and she did the same with the cloth around her mouth. Rose recognized that she was in the back of a truck, as there was a garage-like door at the narrow end of the "room." She didn't care who put her in here; that would be found out later. All she cared about was finding Natalie again. Rose stumbled forward towards the end of the truck, barely escaping the grasp of a few lucky walkers that weren't killed in whatever situation they had been in. It was unlocked. She threw open the door to the back of the truck and froze.

"Shit."


	6. Too Young for a World like This

Rose stared at the massive horde of walkers, who returned the glare with agitated groans and grabbing and snapping at her ankles. She stomped around in frustration, only succeeding in irritating the nearby walkers even more than they already were. She cursed loudly, punching the metal, bloodied side of the truck, which sent a wave of pain through her hand and arm. Of course, the bastards had taken her damn bow and any other damn weapon she could've used. Rose kicked a dead walker that hung from a hook, its limp body shaking at the impact. Her gaze snapped to the hook.

Rose tugged at the walker's body, attempting to shake it down or do something. She repeatedly and roughly tugged on its arms and neck, but she stopped when a sickening crack signaled something. The walker's neck snapped completely, and its body tumbled off of the hook, only leaving its impaled, rotted head and bits of the broken spine dangling from the hook. Rose ignored her gagging response in a rush to get to wherever Natalie was or find whoever did this to them, and one can be sure, when she did, she'd offer no mercy. She easily slid the head off of the hook, and it was rusted with old blood and chunks of the rotten brain.

Rose grabbed the hook, ripping and tugging at it as hard as her body would allow. The weakened, rusted chain eventually snapped loudly with some reluctance, and Rose smiled down at it. Now that she had a weapon, she just needed to figure out how the hell she was going to get out of here. The horde of walkers, from what she saw, consisted of about twenty or so. However, a few walkers nearest to the front weren't agitated at the sight of her, which aroused her curiosity. She studied her appearance and saw that the minutes of attempting to take down the dead walker had rubbed its entrails on her torso and, even, her face. Another idea placed itself into her mind, but Rose hesitated to follow this one's heed. She looked around the compact truck; there was no way in hell that there was another way out, and, if there was, the truck was completely surrounded by the dead. This idea was the only thing that was going to keep her alive, and, if she must, she might as well take the risk.

Rose dove the hook into the walker's torso, tearing the thin flesh of the deceased downwards so as to reveal its bloody organs. She hesitantly picked up the small intestine, holding back the urge to vomit as she rubbed it onto her arms, shoulders, chest, torso, and even her face. Rose then smeared the entrails on her legs and feet, once done, throwing the organ off to the side and vomiting. She shivered and stood up, crossing her arms meekly on her chest. She squeezed her eyes shut and dropped herself over the edge of the exit, bracing herself for the unmerciful jaws of death. It never came. The walkers merely stumbled around her, some groaning and looking down at her, only to continue on.

She huffed, pushed herself up, and shoved her way through the horde, all the while hiding the hook under her arm. As she pushed her way through the last of the walkers, Rose gasped to breathe in the fresh air, which was a far cry from the rotting smell of the walking corpses. She stumbled onwards, not bothering to look back at what once could've held her to a death sentence. All she had to do now was to find Natalie, but she had no inkling of an idea as to where to start. Hell, she didn't even know where she was. She'd have to start off finding the city once more, and then, maybe, she'd have an easier time tracking down Natalie. Rose was still exhausted from whatever it was she went through, and she only found it easy to limp along, not taking the risk to push herself to walk or even run.

Soon, Rose found herself on the side of an empty gravel road and cursed to herself, as she realized how far away she really was from the former city. She looked around in all directions, cupping her hand above her eyes to see clearly. There was a large field off to her right, and, if she saw correctly, there was a tiny speck on the horizon, which could mean anything, really, from this distance. Anything is better than nothing, she reasoned with herself. Rose began her trek off the road, which, she admitted to herself, probably wasn't the best plan, but she continued into the field anyways; anything to help her get to where she needed to be.

As Rose neared the object, she eagerly quickened her pace with excitement for what would await her. What she saw in front of her was a house; a rather large one at that. It looked to be in decent shape, and she didn't immediately see anyone around it. Then again, she'd have to look inside the seemingly empty house to confirm that. Rose stumbled up the porch steps, almost falling in her haste to get inside, and she did exactly that; she threw open the front door, forgetting her cautiousness as she immediately searched for food and rummaged almost ravenously through the nearby cabinets. She passed the staircase in her hunt for anything edible, but a noise stopped her in her tracks; an almost inaudible click, but she heard it. Her eyes trailed to her right side, slowly traveling up the stairs and widening at the sight of a pair of torn up sneakers.

"Don't move," a light voice broke the eerie silence that had passed between the two only moments before. "Put your.." The voice paused, hesitating. ".. hook-thing down."

Rose obeyed the voice's commands, setting her rusty hook on the surprisingly clean counter.

"Good.. Now, turn around and face me."

She did as was told and faced the now-revealed voice. It was a damn kid.

Her face evidently gave away her frustration and surprise, as the other asked, "Something wrong?"

Rose slowly shook her head.

"It's alright; you can talk. I don't want to hurt you."

She didn't make a sound, refusing to offer her voice to the stranger.

They sighed, lowering their weapon. "What's your name?"

She cast a suspicious glare, again, refusing to speak.

"Alright, fine. I'm Sidney."

Rose studied the stranger closer, and, from what she saw, it was a young boy; probably around the ages of eleven or twelve.

"Are you mute or something?"

She shook her head once more, figuring that this kid couldn't do much to her if the problem arises. "I'm Rose."

"That's a start," Sidney smirked to themselves. "Like I said, I don't want to hurt you; it's alright."

Rose relaxed a little. "Like you could if you tried."

Sidney's smirk never faltered as they sat on the top step. "Just don't eat all of my food."

Rose looked around, only having been able to find a small amount. "You don't have much food, anyway."

"Yeah, I guess, but, anyway, how did you get here?"

"Long story, but.. I'm looking for someone."

"Really? Who?"

"Her name is Natalie. She might have a horse with her, but I'm not totally sure."

"What'd she do?"

Rose looked sharply at Sidney. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, did she do something? Are you hunting her down?"

The elder scoffed. "She wouldn't hurt a fly, and, no, we just got separated is all."

"Damn. How did you get all bloodied?"

"Again, it's a long story. It happened after we got separated."

"Any idea where she is?"

"Nope. Not at all. And-" Rose suddenly realized something. "Are you alone?"

"Yeah.. Long story."

"And how old are you?"

"Thirteen. How old are you?"

"Twenty-four."

The two of them stood in an awkward silence for what seemed like minutes but, in reality, was actually mere seconds. Sidney finally stood up, picking up his weapon and making his way down the stairs to stand next to Rose. Rose all the while kept her eyes trained on them, not missing any movement. "Y'know, what Rosie? I'll make a deal with you."

'Rosie?' Rose thought to herself. 'A little early to be using nicknames.' "What is it?"

"I'll help you find this 'Natalie' if you let me go with you."

"Go with me?" Rose repeated as if she hadn't heard.

"Yup. Two people is better than one." Sidney held out their hand, asking again, "Deal or no deal?"

Rose sighed; she did agree with that, after all, and they could very well help. "Fine. Deal."

The partners shook hands, and Sidney smiled up at the taller. Rose's gaze softened at their hopeful smile, but she also held a feeling of remorse for them. Sidney was far too young to have the experiences that they will inevitably have, but, now that they were under her watch, she would have to go through those experiences too. Rose sighed, looking down at the teen, but, despite herself, she smiled.


	7. Run, now

Rose and Sidney, after speaking with each other for quite a long while, headed outside of the now-empty house with the plan of tracking down and retrieving Natalie. Rose was still equipped with her rusted, bloody hook, and Sidney with their firearm that, even when coaxed by Rose, they wouldn't even walk three feet from. Along the way, Sidney, being themselves, decided to initiate conversation to relieve the tension between the strangers, "So, uh, Rose?"

She looked back at the sound of her name, responding with a flat voice as usual, "What is it?"

"I was just wondering, but.. What's with you?"

Rose turned, stopping sharply in her tracks. "Excuse me?"

Sidney's hands fidgeted with nervousness at the obvious anger of the adult. "Well, I just meant, like, what happened to you, and where you're from. You know, stuff like that."

Rose resumed her walking, relaxing her tensed shoulders and paused in thought.

Sidney cleared their throat to interrupt the awkward silence. "If you're planning on keeping me, then-"

"Don't be so full of yourself. I haven't decided whether I'll keep you or not," before Sidney could open their mouth to speak, Rose continued, "And don't you dare think of begging, either."

Kicking an unsuspecting rock that laid in their path, Sidney sighed and folded their arms across their chest. "Alright, alright, I'll go first."

Without retaliation and understanding that arguing would be futile, Rose let Sidney pour out their history to her.

"I started off with just my father and brother, but, pretty soon after all of this started, my brother left us, which pissed off my dad. I still don't really know why he left, but I think it's safe to say I'll probably never see him again.." Sidney's voice grew quiet and drawn out by the end of the sentence.

Rose simply hummed in response, having picked up a long stick that had been thrust through a walker's head and had now absorbed most of her attention.

"And, that house that you found me in, I've pretty much stayed there since the beginning of this. Rations go a long way."

The adult had begun sharpening the stick, coming to the conclusion that the blood on the end of it was rather fresh; as fresh as blood from a long dead person could be.

"And that's pretty much me. Your turn, Rosie."

Rose stiffly stood up, the sharpened stick in her right hand and the hook in her left. Unamused eyes trailed to her left as she half-heartedly glanced back at the teen. "Do you intend to call me that the entire time you're here?"

Sidney jogged the rest of the way back up to Rose, having realized she was a bit ahead of them. "Well, you don't really seem like you want to stop me."

Ignoring the child's previous statement, Rose finally decided to tell her story to avoid any further nicknames they could think up. "So, before this went to hell, I was studying astronomy in college. I didn't have anyone particularly close to me, except for my aunt, but, of course, she had to be halfway across the country in North Dakota. So, long story short, I have no idea where she is or if she's even alive."

"So, you were alone for the most part?"

"Except for Natalie and a few other people, but they're dead now. It's just you, Natalie, and I."

"That's good to know. At least we're getting somewhere as far as trust goes."

Rose offered a weak shrug, silently continuing on with the other close behind her. Surprisingly, there were little walkers as they made their trek through the neighborhood, but Sidney was still alerted, even though Rose seemed almost completely at ease. Their intuition sensed an addition to the silent, lonely scene they walked through. If Sidney strained their ears, they could hear something; it was a very subtle, quiet nose, but they knew it was there. To them, it sounded like a sort of rattling; the noise that would present itself if one shook a small link of chains. Sidney decided against alerting Rose of this noise, as they wrote it off as nothing, but their subconscious implied otherwise.

As the group walked in the middle of the solemn, dirty street, the noise that had captured Sidney's attention only grew louder. With each yard they traveled, it presented itself louder and more obvious, even to the distracted Rose, who soon heard it. The woman half-turned to glance at Sidney but remained where she was, her stick and hook held tightly in either hand. Rose whistled and titled her head, a clear sign to Sidney to come and stay near her, and the other obeyed without hesitation.

Quickly and quietly the pair moved forward, their weapons ready to strike or shoot whatever came near that presented itself as a threat. Soon, however, the noise grew so loud that it was unavoidable to concentrate on anything else, and the origin of this was revealed to them: a large gate; too large for the rather small chain that was binding the entrance. The sloppy warnings written near the entrance didn't deter their attention from the real threat that lay before them. The rattling's source was a massive horde of walkers, too many to count, throwing themselves on the gate in an attempt to claw their way out and sink their rotten teeth into whatever they sensed was alive.

The chain's weakness was brought evident by the small snap that signaled the walkers' freedom. The only thing that they could do now was run.


End file.
